The ball landed on the line and struck the crossbar and post, appearing to spin into the goal before Aziz Behich got back to clear.

Victory’s players and staff celebrated wildly, while Heart protested furiously, claiming the ball did not cross the line.

Referee Alan Milliner and his assistant signalled a goal, and Muscat endorsed the view of the match officials.

“From where I was sitting, I wasn’t too sure to be honest,” he said.

“But the linesman seemed to be in a decent enough position to make the call, and our players that were around the ball said it did cross the line.”

While Victory’s winner arrived in a chaotic final few minutes, Muscat felt the manner of the goal was testament to his team’s potent attacking instincts.

“We believe that when we do get it right, and at times tonight we got it spot on, we’ll break any team down,” he said.

“And the goal was testimony to that, the fact that we played through them lines, albeit it was a counter-attack, call it what you like, but that structure was still there, and we ended up getting a goal from it.”

Muscat addressed the media in place of head coach Ange Postecoglou, who left soon after the final whistle due to a family bereavement.